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Table of Contents
Introduction
Our Father Which Art in Heaven
The Creator
The Kingdom in All its Glory
The War in Heaven
A Defense of The Faith
The Great Pretender
Amen
Introduction
Where is God? In the Christian Bible, God was very active in the Old Testament. He spoke personally with individuals and performed many miracles, making His presence known to His followers. However, in the New Testament, God is rarely heard from. Jesus performs His work on the Earth; and after Jesus leaves, so does God it would seem. With the New Testament largely considered a forgery by scholars, God's absence seems even greater. Perhaps the reasoning for this absence can be answered upon observation of the Old Testament. When reading and analyzing the text, the argued point arises that God was simply a God for the Jewish people, not for the rest of us. Even in the New Testament Jesus says to a woman that He didn’t come for her kind, only for the Jewish people (Matthew 15:22-28). Going by this logic, the Bible and God seem to center on the Jewish people and not anyone else. In this way the Preterist Revelation school of thought seems logical, meaning that the Apocalypse has already come and gone. After all, Jesus said their generation would not pass before the end of times (Mark 13:24-37). If God's Apocalypse already did happen, an absent God would make sense. His epoch has passed, so there is little else for Him to do. However, most Christians choose to believe that God's Kingdom is to come later and will be for us all, disagreeing with the Preterist view. If this is the case, than the question must be posed, where is God? In His absence the world has lost control. Just in the past century two World Wars have taken place, thousands of children have been forced into sex slavery, and evil has become more prevalent and almost justified. If indeed evil exists because of the fallen angel Lucifer, why is God not able to control this upstart? Good and evil in the Divine sense has often been referred to as a cosmic chess game; but isn't chess a game typically played by equals? Not a God and a fallen angel.
In God's absence a voice has risen at an attempt to provide an answer, the Christian church. The church arose with the purpose to speak for God; and inadvertently try to embody the Divine. The church has certainly failed in the way of attempting to speak for God. They've spewed hate, lies, supremacy, and hardly embodied what it means to act like God, much less a Christian. It’s hard to believe that a benevolent and omnipotent God would allow His created world to decay in such a manner. At this point in questioning is where this collection begins. This collection is neither atheist nor nihilistic; instead it only exists because of the idea of God. With this collection slightly mimicking the Lord's Prayer I send this collection as a questioning prayer to God. Where is God, and why does He not answer our prayers? Many may argue that God is there and answers in His own time. But just how slow is Divine time? We mere mortals would not hesitate to stop a rape or do away with child sex slavery if given the chance; but God seems to be dragging his feet on these matters. For an all-powerful God it does not seem difficult to have created a world free of evil; but I suppose then, God would no longer have a purpose.
With all my questions I do try to provide some answers. In "The Creator" I provide my own answer as to why evil exists and has been allowed to continue, making a comparison between evil and cancer. "The Kingdom in All its Glory" tackles the question not of if Heaven was created; but instead by whom was it created. "The War in Heaven" and "The Creator" are the only poems with dialogue between God and humans as a means to show the natural human tendency to question. Pastors like to say that when Christ/God returns, all humans will immediately flock to him; but I do not see this happening. If God comes at some later date providing peace and promises of new beginnings, I don't think many would be thrilled. Instead they would be furiously questioning why He chose to wait until there seemed no point to continue. Waiting until time's very end to solve the universe's problems does not prove his great power; but instead appears as an act of selfishness. "A Defense of The Faith" is an exposé on the Christian church and its many faults, showing how many choose to live an incredibly hypocritical lifestyle. "The Great Pretender" is dedicated to a homophobic and Islamaphobic pastor whose church I attended for roughly a year. All quotes in the poem are direct quotes from him only emphasizing that change is still a necessity in the Christian church. The church still chooses willful ignorance, hypocrisy and supremacy over love and acceptance. My final two poems certainly are critical of the Christian church but I do not feel any of what I say is out of turn. I wish not to condemn Christians who truly do love and treat others as we are called; instead I wish to expose those who judge others, pass on hatred to the next generation, and those who act as though they themselves are the Divine. The Church has to experience great change. Neither the church, nor we as humans have any right to judge. In my previous writing, “A Manifestation of A Manifesto” I urged church officials to exude love and acceptance as they are called; but of course no change took place.
Writing this collection has certainly been a growing experience for me, unfortunately providing me with more questions than answers. I thank you for taking the time to read my collection; and I assure you it reads more quickly than this introduction. Religious or not I ask you to remove any biases or preconceptions you previously have about the Divine, for only in this way can my collection be understood and enjoyed. Prepare yourself for a journey of questioning, uncertainty, and enlightenment.